11 June, 2013 - TripAdvisor^®, the world’s largest travel site*, unveils TripIndex Cities 2013, the third annual cost comparison of an evening out and overnight stay for two people in key tourist cities around the world.

The TripAdvisor TripIndex Cities is tracked against the British pound and is based on the combined costs for two of one night in a four-star hotel, cocktails, a two-course dinner with a bottle of wine, and return taxi transportation (two journeys of two miles each).  Costs listed are accurate for the summer months ahead (1 June – 31 August 2013).

Sofia, Bulgaria offers the most affordable evening out for British travellers with a total TripIndex cost of £103.91, while Hanoi in Vietnam takes second place with £115.43. At nearly four times the cost of Sofia, Oslo, Norway tops the list as most expensive with a TripIndex cost of £381.28, closely followed by Zurich, Switzerland which totals £343.24.

“TripIndex helps travellers to see where their pound goes the furthest,” commented Angus Struthers, TripAdvisor spokesperson.  “The list shows that Asia is the most affordable continent, while Europe is the most expensive, but some European cities – like Sofia, Warsaw and Budapest – are bucking this trend.   While London topped the list as the most expensive last year, London falls six places in this year’s TripIndex Cities to be ranked seventh most expensive of these worldwide cities.”

Hotels hike up the price but biggest gap is between taxi costs

While the cost of a hotel stay is the most expensive of the TripIndex basket items, the biggest disparity in cost between the cheapest and most expensive destinations lies with the return taxi trip. At £27.20, London is almost twenty times more expensive for taxi transportation than Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at £1.39.

The cheapest average hotel room goes to Sofia, Bulgaria at £63.13 per night, while the most expensive, at nearly four times the cost, goes to New York City, at £248.63 per night.  

Affordable Asia vs. Comparatively Costly in Europe

Asia features heavily in the ten cheapest destinations, claiming four cities in total. Hanoi, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Riyadh rank second, sixth, seventh and tenth place respectively.

Europe dominated the most expensive cities with six of the top ten destinations. Oslo, Zurich, Stockholm, Paris, London and Copenhagen take first, second, third, fifth, seventh and eighth place respectively on the list.

How much bang will you get for your buck around the world?

TripIndex Cities shows travellers just how far their pound will go across the key tourist cities around the world:

• For the price of three taxis in Zurich, Switzerland a traveller can get one night’s stay in a four star hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam

• Travellers can enjoy two dinners for two people in Taipei, Taiwan for the same price as two cocktails in Seoul, South Korea

• One night’s hotel stay for two in a four star hotel in Zurich, Switzerland is nearly the same price as three nights in Warsaw, Poland

TripIndex Cities

Cheapest:

Most Expensive:

The full TripIndex is available at http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/InfoCenter-a_ctr.TripIndex_Cities_2013_UK